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  Lost Land

  Alexis Davie

  Lost Land

  Text Copyright © 2019 by Alexis Davie

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First printing, 2019

  Publisher

  Secret Woods Books

  [email protected]

  www.SecretWoodsBooks.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Other Books You Will Love

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  1

  Some days, Ellie believed in dragons and witches getting along. Some days, everything was fine and dandy in her world. She’d be working on renovating her old Airstream, trying to figure out the differences in laminate versus vinyl flooring, and things were golden. She’d say that there was no reason that the two species had to be enemies, and that a lot of times, the centuries old battle between their groups was caused mostly on tradition, and there was no need for animosity. She’d believe that one day, someone in power would stand up and say that it was stupid and everyone could get over the idiotic racism between their groups. Dragons were just like witches, and witches were just like dragons, right? They both bled the same, even if dragons tended to be immortal and terrifying…

  Other days, Ellie was tied up in the back of a Hummer, having been kidnapped by dragons on a raid the one time she went to the witch compound in the past few years, and her beliefs about dragons could be summed up in two words: fuck dragons.

  She sat in the stretchy black fabric that covered the back seat as the Hummer rolled over some backwoods country road, hunched over because her arms were securely fastened behind her back with anti-magic cuffs tightened entirely too tight against her wrists, wearing a gag not unlike that of a horse’s bit for riding so that she couldn’t talk. Well, officially, it was to prevent her from casting spells, but even if she could cast spells, her arms were tied up, and it wouldn’t do anything anyway, but that had never stopped an overzealous bunch of jackass dragons. The bit that they’d stuffed into her mouth and tied around the back of her head tasted suspiciously like she wasn’t the first witch to use it, and thanks to her allergies, she had to struggle to breathe through her nose. Her eyes itched from whatever she was allergic to, but her bindings prevented her from being able to do anything about it, so she suffered in silence.

  Ellie situated herself on the back seat to get her hips more under her, coaxing a suspicious glare from one of her captors. Having no other way to say it, she used her eyes to firmly say, fuck you. Here she was, 120 pounds, dripping wet, about as tall and threatening as a girl scout, wearing her favorite pair of jeans, and a nice blouse because she’d dolled herself up to go to the compound, and they had her tied up like she was a well-known terrorist that could bend steel through sheer force of will. She wasn’t a killer. She wasn’t even inclined to violence. She had hated going hunting when her dad used to try to coax her to learn to shoot. The last thing she’d killed was an especially cute gecko she’d named Harold, and it was by accident, and she’d held a token funeral to pay her respects. For heaven’s sake, if someone handed her a gun, she wouldn’t even know what to do with it.

  But no, according to the dragons, she was a witch, which funneled her into a list of lunatic, dangerous psychopaths who could cause all kinds of harm and danger from a single spell. First off, she wasn't gifted in the abilities of destruction. Her skills rested in the reading and use of runes. She probably knew a grand total of a dozen spells that could even hurt someone, and most of them were as a side effect. She was a teacher, not a warrior, but they saw her bloodline and classified her as a danger to them.

  Ellie glowered and tugged on her bindings helplessly before grouchily settling into the seat again, realizing that she could fight with the bindings for half an hour and not make a dent. She could deal with the handcuff things. Witches were powerful, and they could put out some serious damage through their hands, so if you did capture a witch, it made some sense. Less sense was gagging her. It was practically insult to injury.

  Her captors looked like they were the type that needed to be gagged and tied up if they ever got caught. From her vantage point in the back seat, Ellie wasn’t able to see the woman that was driving, but she suspected it was a dragoness. She saw some short, choppy hair that wasn’t designed for cuteness but for making sure that it didn’t get in the way during battle. There wasn't any doubt in Ellie’s mind that she was looking at a military woman. Everything about her, from the cocky way that she held onto the steering wheel of the hefty Hummer to the reflective sunglasses she wore over a scowl, hinted that she was serious. The only time she’d ever laughed was in the face of death, and even then, it was only a chuckle.

  But it wasn’t the dragoness that scared Ellie. No, it was the ape of a man that sat next to her in the backseat, eyeing her from head to toe in an unpleasant way. If you saw him walking towards you on the street, you wouldn’t just switch sides of the road. You’d leave the city and start anew with a new name. He was built like a truck, hulking and massive enough that he barely fit in the seat. His piercing grey eyes, the unusual color that gave him away as a dragon, scanned her like a hawk watching a mouse, but like if the hawk was simultaneously wondering how she’d taste and how she’d look naked. If someone made a poster for how scary a mercenary could be, he’d be the poster child. His arms were about as thick as her entire thigh, arms that he’d covered from bulky shoulder to meaty fingers in tattoos. One of his callused hands was stroking the holstered gun on his belt while the other one hung out the window. He stared at Ellie, who, in turn, avoided his gaze and shied away from him. If she was able to talk, she’d try to recruit the dragoness’s help in this. There had to be some kind of female code, right? Surely, the dragoness could understand why no woman in her right mind wanted anything to do with the monster sitting across from her. That had to mean more than genetics. But she couldn’t talk, so she was forced to sit there and let him stare at her for the whole drive.

  “She’s cute,” he declared out of the blue in a deep, gravely voice, like he’d been a smoker since he was six. “Maybe a little skinny, but that’s okay.” His grey eyes stared unwaveringly at her, like he was daring her to do something. What the hell he was expecting, she didn’t know. She just kept avoiding his gaze. “I’ll make do.”

  Ellie, in twenty-eight years of living, had never been more uncomfortable. On one hand, she’d normally cuss him out and leave, but in this scenario, she was trapped in here with him, and this big brute of a man had a gun. Based on what she’d already seen of him, he’d most likely use it if she pissed him off. She kept her eyes away from him, hoping, pleading that he’d leave her alone. She had literally done nothing to him. The whole trip, she hadn’t said anything bad to her captors, and that seemed like she was already being entirely too nice. She leaned her comparatively tiny torso away from him, which should have given him the message, I don’t want to engage, please leave me alone, but it apparently gave him a different one.

  “I bet you’re tired,” he told her, leaning closer. A quick glance to see wh
at he was doing showed her that he had a scar across his jawline, a pale, jagged thing that stretched from his ear to the bottom of his chin. Great. He looked in the general direction of the driver. “I bet she’s sleepy. She had to wake up so early to come with us. Poor baby…” He spread his lips in a feral smile, revealing his canines, longer and scarier than they had any right to be. “Think she wants some coffee?”

  Ellie’s heart started pounding. Most of this trip, he had been creepy as hell and giving off a dangerous, pervert vibe, but now, he was doing something about it. What if he tried to touch her? She’d have to fight back, but she stood about as much of a chance as a puppy against a seasoned tiger. Without her powers, he’d crush her. She once again scooted her hips over, which only seemed to amuse him.

  The dragoness’s voice came from the front, accompanied by a casual glance that must have kicked in some protective feelings towards Ellie. “Hey, how about not being a moron? Leave the poor thing alone. Shit, she’s probably scared outta her mind.”

  The big man glared at his companion, then turned his attention to Ellie.

  “I don’t think she minds it. Listen here, witch, if you want me to stop, just say it.” He grinned, obviously thinking he was really funny. “Go on. Don’t be shy.”

  Ellie wriggled in her seat. She tried to speak through her gag, but what came out was some awful, unintelligible gibberish. Her face burned with humiliation and fear. She felt like a gazelle that had been trapped by a couple of lions who were just toying with their prey before they finished her off. She tried to think rationally. She was alive and obviously going somewhere, so they didn’t want her dead. Theoretically, it meant that she was supposed to be safe, but it sure didn’t feel that way. Things were going south, and fast.

  The dragon moved back, taking his hand off his gun for only a second. “Hear that? She’s fine with it. Hand me that coffee. I think she’s thirsty.”

  They hit a bump, causing all three of them to jump in the air. It didn’t faze him, though it hosted the smaller Ellie a good inch or two into the air before she landed. She twisted as far away from the big man as possible, pressing her back against the door.

  “Leave me alone!” she shouted, but it came out as, “Mmmmph!”

  He obviously understood what she was saying, but instead of being a decent person, he decided to be an absolutely terrible one. He moved closer to her, laying a hand next to her thigh. A darkness glinted in his eye when she scooted away. The message was obvious: quit being an annoyance, or his delivery would change. He was out of patience, and she’d tested him enough.

  “Teneha, you know what I like most about witches? They’re so… breakable. See, they act all powerful, but when you take their magic away, what do you have? A human. A common, worthless human.” He reached in like he was going to stroke her cheek. “And humans—”

  He didn’t get to finish that dramatic, threatening monologue, because as he opened his mouth, he made the crucial mistake of getting too close to her, meaning Ellie was able to firmly headbutt him.

  She instantly regretted it the moment their foreheads smacked together. With an audible thud, their heads snapped back simultaneously. Pain shot through her, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the instant flood of regret that came after it when she saw his expression. He blinked hard, obviously startled that she’d stand up to him, but the surprise was short lived. The rage of a bully who’d finally had his victim turn on him kicked in, and he ran a long finger along where they had connected on his forehead. A violence ignited in his grey eyes, his lips contorting into a snarl.

  “Oh, you just made this a lot more fun.”

  Ellie shoved herself away as best as she could, writhing and trying to bring her arms around the front of her body so at least she wouldn’t catch his fist straight to the face. She tried to yell a spell, but it came out unintelligible and didn’t activate. She slipped on the slick fabric as she attempted to get into a safer position, realizing that she was nowhere near able to defend herself here.

  “Hey!” Teneha twisted in her seat and saw what was going on. She must have pieced it together pretty fast, because as the dragon lunged towards Ellie, she slammed on the brakes. Ellie and the dragon were flung forward, colliding with the front chairs. Watching him tumble was like watching a building in the air, but he came up fast. Teneha grabbed his brawny shoulder and kept him from attacking Ellie. “Knock it off, Ajax!”

  He threw her hand off as Ellie gave up trying to bring her arms around the front. It was an impossibility, first off, and secondly, she ended up just crouching like a jungle cat on the seat, ready to jump into action and do something if necessary. She couldn’t think of a lot that she’d hate more than having to get her ass kicked by a big dragon, but if it got down to it, no matter how scary he was, she wouldn’t just crawl into a corner and give up.

  “Mmmph, mmmmph!” she shouted. I said, leave me alone!

  The dragoness grabbed her partner again as they skidded to a stop on the dirt road, bringing up huge swaths of dust that flew past the windows. Ajax shoved her again, but she was back with the other arm in a second. He wasn’t even remotely focusing on her. His complete and total attention was focused on Ellie and the sheer, brutish rage that came from inside him. “She headbutted me!”

  “Stop and think!” snapped Teneha in annoyance, like she wasn’t terrible worried about Ellie being injured but just didn’t want to deal with it right then. “I don’t care if she shot you! She’s supposed to stay safe.”

  That was apparently enough to have Ajax, who seemed to have forgotten it, pause. “Says who?”

  “Says Sebastian,” came the instant response, spoken with a hint of reverence and fear. Whoever this Sebastian fellow was, his word was enough that it made the two goons rethink the situation. “You wanna piss him off?”

  Ajax hesitated, looking like he was weighing the option. Ellie watched the big man swallow his anger, though the fire still burned in his eyes. He glared at Ellie, rubbing his forehead and rolling his lip back to show his long canines, which were strong and capable enough to rip through a human’s flesh if he wanted. He stared at Ellie for a few good seconds. Ellie prepared herself for him to jump on her, which would be just a bloodbath in her current state, before he let out a guttural, animistic growl from the base of his throat.

  “Try me again, witch, and I don’t care who wants you healthy.” He ran his tongue over his teeth. “I’ll show you what a dragon can do.”

  The dragoness cocked a skeptical eyebrow behind her sunglasses, apparently not impressed, before shaking her head and returning to driving. She eased on the accelerator, and slowly but surely, they kept moving along the dusty old road into the middle of nowhere. Ajax stared at Ellie menacingly, as though he was imagining all the things he’d do to her if given the chance. She tried to relax at least a little and wasn’t too successful. Her breathing and heartrate slowly returned to normal, and she kept to her side as much as she could.

  She was a witch, and they were dragons. She kept repeating that through her head, again and again. This wasn’t funny. This was serious. Ajax wanted her dead or worse, the dragoness only wanted her safe so she wouldn’t anger Sebastian, whoever that was, and Ellie was still tied up and helpless. If Ajax had a hankering to, he could take one of those fangs and cut her throat right then and there. She wouldn’t be able to stop him. She shuddered at the idea and tried to put on a brave face. This was a nightmare in every sense of the word. For the first time in their trip, she realized that she was thoroughly fucked. She had no contacts with anyone who’d notice if she was gone.

  Nobody would be coming to find her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t go toe to toe with a dragon, not now, not ever. There was a reason witches worked together. The first person who would wonder what had happened to her would be her landlord when she stopped paying utilities if she ended up dead. Her head started to ache from where she’d headbutted Ajax, but she hardly noticed it. She curled up in the corner of the seat, wis
hing she wasn’t so alone in the car, telling herself that she’d survive whatever came next, and praying that this Sebastian fellow was different from the taste of dragons that she’d had so far.

  2

  A few minutes passed before the Hummer pulled up and came to a slow halt on the country road.

  Ellie, who had slowly but surely returned to her normal spot instead of crouching on the seat, felt dread settle in. She’d finally been okay with being driven around, because at the immediate moment, she wasn’t in serious danger. Thanks to the dragoness, she wasn’t going to be suffering any terrible fates while in the car, but all bets were off whenever they arrived at their location. Maybe this Sebastian fellow wanted her there safe so he could do unspeakable things to her. She didn’t know, and truth be told, it wasn’t like she had much of a say in the matter. Human police didn’t know how to stop crimes between witches and dragons, and though they weren’t as common as they were back in the medieval times, modern day abductions and murders still happened every now and then. To be fair, they were generally by extremists, but that didn’t comfort her. She knew nothing about the people in front of her. They might be the witch killing variety.

  The dragoness put the car in park and turned to look at Ellie and Ajax with what almost looked like compassion behind those reflective sunglasses. Then her expression hardened, and Ellie was left wondering if she’d made it up. Behind her, outside the already dusty windows, a wall of dust that they’d kicked up went drifting past.

  “Here’s the deal,” Teneha told her bluntly. “No running, no trying to escape, and you’ll be fine. We need your expertise. Sebastian wants to talk to you, but play it cool, and you’ll make it out of here. Freak out, and… just don’t be stupid.”